Konad Fail

I took the Pintos N' Cheese thing way too far. (American Apparel Pinto with Manila stamped on.)

UGH! It looks like ketchup and mustard in the process of being mixed together.

I had to wear this during my whole shift, it was miserable.

One of my coworkers asked me what was the matter and I showed him my nails. He goes "Eww." 

All I could do was laugh!

I'm going to show you guys the good, the bad, and the fugly on this blog so be prepared!

Today I gave myself a break and did a glitterbomb of a manicure so they look much better.

A Gift from the Polish Gods!

I am not the kind of girl who takes huge risks in polish yet. If I think there's no way a color will look good on me, I usually pass it over.

Two days ago, I bought American Apparel Pinto on a whim, telling myself "This will probably look like crap on you. Just be prepared." My life has been changed!

This may be my favorite polish ever. 

It's exactly the color of Taco Bell's Pintos N' Cheese!

Which would make you think it would be an ugly nail color right?

WRONG.

2 coats, natural light. OPAQUE IN ONE COAT. Less glossy in real life, which I loved.

I lose it over nice creamy polishes.

It's like the color of old bricks and pueblo roofs! I may konad it tomorrow with Manila to keep up with the Pintos N' Cheese motif.

I just went on another massive polish bender for my birthday today, AND I got the new larger Bundle Monster plates. So I'm gonna stop buying polish and start using what I've got. I've got plenty to swatch and fiddle around with!

American Apparel Hunter (with a dash of Konad)

This green is soooo nice! It's just like the forest green Crayola crayon. Application was smooth as usual, and I actually did a decent job with the stamp! Woot!

The stamp is harder to see in real life because the polish is so dark. It's the awesome leaf design, I'll definitely use it again with my light green polish. Maybe Hunter for the base and the light green for the veins?

I am still not ready to shell out six bucks for a "special konad polish" when Claire's and Wet 'n Wild's black does the job. (Plus WNW is 99 cents at the grocery store.) (Icing Chip Resistant Base/Top Coat, Claire's "Black Hole")

That bottle cap is covered with blue polish from a marbling escapade. I had polish all over my legs as well. But it looked great, which is the whole point!

While I do love this color, it's a bit darker in real life and I feel like it would look much nicer if I were formally dressed. Is that weird considering it's American Apparel?

Essie St. Lucia Lilac

The last time I went on a massive nail polish binge, I figured I should grab at least one Essie to see whether it was worth the hype. IT WAS.

This is St. Lucia Lilac, soooooo pretty and pastel! And it doesn't make me feel ridiculously girly in the process, which is a plus.

I am attempting to get my konading skills up to snuff. These were crooked but my coworker still squealed when she saw them and asked me to do her nails one day :) 

My dad told me to pretend like I meant to do them like that :(

I didn't know how the brush was going work, it is thinner than others. All went well for me though, I think I only did two coats this time around. And the formula was perfection.

American Apparel Manila

I tried this polish a few weeks ago, and it was all jumbled up and clumpy due to the bus ride from hell I took on my way home. Seriously, the driver was crazy and I thought I was going to die.

But here I am trying it again and I really loved it! A nice goldenrod color that will look better on me with a tan in the summertime.

Precisely the color of a manila envelope! I did have the goofball moment of wondering WHAT this polish had to do with the capital of the Philippines. (w/flash, 3 coats)

Gratuitous bottle shot.

These are so inexpensive, and online I see they are 7/$32. Not bad at all. Opaque in 3 coats, application was a breeze, and it lasted through my shift, so I am one happy camper.

Tomorrow, Essie swatch with a Konad attempt!

Gap "Ballet"

Disclaimer: Yeah, I work for the Gap as a lowly sales associate. I don't own stock or anything. I will speak about this polish honestly.

I was so excited to test our new nail polish out and this was kind of a let down. I love pretty ballerina pink colors, but whenever I buy them I find myself having issues with opacity and general streakiness. You could always do the white polish first, but I would much rather have a polish that works on its own. If anyone knows of this wonderpolish please let me know!

The gratuitous bottle pic. I've got child-sized hands so unless I'm holding a mini bottle I have trouble with my fingers getting all the way round. And believe me, this color was three coats and it does not look that nice up close.

What I can say it that Ballet has lasted for 2 days with minimal chipping on my fingertips. Working with clothing hard tags, a manicure usually doesn't last after a shift at work. It has potential, so maybe I'll stop being a lazy bum and apply a white polish first next time.

Next week, I think I'm sucking it up and buying a Deborah Lippman. Exciting!